Thanks for visiting East Bay Short Sale Group. We are experienced Short Sale Realtors/Listing Agents covering Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. Please start off by watching the introduction video to the left.

Debt forgiveness update for San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland short sales For more than six years, homeowners faced with the unfortunate decision of having to short sale or give up their home to foreclosure were saved from the additional burden of a large tax bill on April 15. In 2007, Congress passed the Mortgage more »

San Leandro Home For Sale Just Sold, Located At 16075 Carolyn St. In San Leandro We are excited to have just closed another San Leandro home in the San Leandro Hills. This one located in San Leandro at 16075 Carolyn St, not far from I-580. This San Leandro single family residence is a smaller home, more »

San Ramon Short Sale Experts Just Closed Another Short Sale At 3775 Crow Canyon Rd. in San Ramon’s Cobblestone Community San Ramon short sale experts have just closed another successful short sale for homeowners living in San Ramon at 3775 Crow Canyon Road, located in the beautiful Cobblestone Subdivision. This is a very nice area more »

1986 Marion Ct. Lafayette Short Sale Just Listed Lafayette short sale specialists are very excited to have another listing coming on the market this weekend. This property is located in a highly desirable community of Lafayette. It’s a single family residence located at 1986 Marion Court. This is a four bedroom, three bath. 3,040 square more »

4736 La Vista Dr. Oakley Just Closed – Non Short Sale – Probate Sale We are proud to have closed another listing located in Oakley, this one at 4736 La Vista Drive. This property is a very nice two-story, four-bedroom, three bath, 2,065 square feet located in the community of Holly Creek. Very nice home. more »

Dublin CA Short Sale Townhome Closed – 4187 Clarinbridge Cir Dublin Dublin CA short sale townhome just closed, located at 4187 Clarinbridge Circle. This is a very nice newer townhome community located in The Villas. 289 total units in the area surrounded by shopping, new development, the freeways very close, parks really close, real more »

Moraga Short Sale For Sale, Just Listed On The Market! Another Moraga short sale just listed on the market by East Bay Short Sale Group. We’re very excited to have a new short sale listing coming up this weekend in Moraga including an open house for interested buyers. The Moraga short sale is located more »

San Leandro Short Sale Just Listed 16075 Carolyn St. San Leandro San Leandro short sale specialists have listed another home for sale in San Ramon. This home is a regular sale, not a short sale, so it can close quickly and will not require any bank approval for sale. This property is located at more »

Oakley Short Sale Just Listed 4736 La Vista Drive Oakley Oakley short sale just listed on the market by East Bay Short Sale Group. This Oakley short sale is a detached home located at 4736 La Vista Drive in Oakley. This property actually is not a short sale. There is a notice of default that’s more »

Walnut Creek Short Sale Just Listed 311 Masters Ct #3 Walnut Creek Walnut Creek short sale specialists at East Bay Short Sale Group are proud to announce another short sale listing located at 311 Master’s Ct. #3 in Walnut Creek. This is located at Club Villas, which is right off of March Banks, right near more »

San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland short sale and short sale debt forgiveness

Debt forgiveness update for San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland short sales

For more than six years, homeowners faced with the unfortunate decision of having to short sale or give up their home to foreclosure were saved from the additional burden of a large tax bill on April 15. In 2007, Congress passed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act. The primary goal of the Act was to avoid the situation where a struggling homeowner would lose their home and then have to pay tax on the income from forgiveness of debt.

The Act was always meant to be a temporary measure and it was to sunset after three years. It was extended twice and finally expired on Jan. 1, 2014. One would think that this would be catastrophic for homeowners, but for Califor- nians it may be the silver lining to a dark cloud. Forgiveness of Debt has been recognized as income under the tax code for decades. However, up until recently most Americans had never had any real experience with significant forgiveness of debt. For example, if a homeowner has an outstanding balance of $100,000 on their loan and the house sells for $50,000, there is $50,000 that the bank writes off. The write off is a forgiveness of debt and the $50,000 is added as income to the homeowner’s income tax return. If the homeowner is in the 15 percent tax bracket, that’s an additional $7,500 of tax due.

Like most scenarios involv- ing taxes, there is a rule and then a long list of exceptions. One of the most important exceptions to forgiveness of debt is non-recourse debt. Non-recourse simply means that the bank cannot collect against the borrower person- ally in the event of default. In California, most purchase- money mortgages of primary residences are non-recourse. As a result, these loans have no forgiveness of debt income. The problem is that the minute you refinance you lose the exemption.

In 2010 and 2011, the California legislature acted to prevent banks from collecting personally against homeowners if they approved and completed a short sale.

While the bank was barred from collecting against the homeowner, there was still the thorny issue of taxes. The common wisdom among tax professionals was that these laws did nothing to convert what was recourse debt into non-recourse. Then on Sept. 19, 2013, a two page letter to Senator Barbara Boxer threw that common wisdom on its head.

The letter was a response to Senator Boxer’s concern over the impending expiration of the Mortgage Forgive- ness Debt Relief Act. The Office of the Chief Counsel pronounced that the new laws effectively converted all short sales to non-recourse debt. The implication of this pronouncement has some far-reaching consequences that should be mostly good for California homeowners in short sale or foreclosure.

Unfortunately, the picture is not quite as crystal clear as one would hope. A nagging issue is that the interpretation by the Office of the Chief Counsel may be flawed. The Office of the Chief Counsel is like the internal law firm of the IRS. Astonishingly how- ever, the opinion of the Chief

Counsel is not actually binding on the IRS. That being said, the IRS is not exactly basking in the glow of great press lately. For the IRS to take a position contrary to that in a letter to a U.S. Senator on such an important issue would be rather shocking.

What this means for homeowners is that they should breathe a sigh of relief as it relates to moving forward on a short sale or foreclosure. However, it does not mean that all tax issues have evaporated. Homeowners still have to worry about capital gains which can be a big issue especially if there was cash-out borrowing. For those that have already had foreclosures or short sales over the past three years and paid tax, you should review your tax returns with an experienced CPA or tax attorney.

For more information on this and other short sale related topics, contact Chris Schneider, Attorney at Law with Dorband & Schneider LLP, 925-938-1200, or Scott Fuller, broker associate with Keller Williams Realty, 925-855-3432.

San Leandro Home For Sale Just Sold, Located At 16075 Carolyn St. In San Leandro

We are excited to have just closed another San Leandro home in the San Leandro Hills. This one located in San Leandro at 16075 Carolyn St, not far from I-580.

This San Leandro single family residence is a smaller home, built in 1947. It’s a two-bedroom, one-bath 1,233 square feet. What the previous owners had done is they had built out the garage into a living space which is not included in the 1,233 square-feet assessment by the county tax recorder’s office. So, it’s actually much more than 1,233 square feet. This is the type of a situation where the San Leandro seller initially thought that he was going to be in a short sale situation. And so, he initially had planned for that, but the market started to improve over 2013 and we were able to get the seller more money then they had anticipated from the sale, thus making it a regular sale property. What we found is that as the offers came in, they were a little bit higher and we were able to get a situation where he was able to about break even on the property which was certainly a relief to him because it put him outside of having to do a short sale-type of a situation. So, a lot of people, if they are considering doing a short sale or are not sure about what their home’s value actually is, are coming to find out that maybe they’re a little bit closer to a break-even point or possibly even a little bit ahead than they originally had thought.

If you are thinking about needing to sell or would like to sell, but not sure what you owe on it or would exceed the current market value, let us do a comparative market analysis to find out how much is owed on the property and to find out what your financial situation would be on a potential sale. No-cost consultation and certainly no commitment on your end. Just get some information on what your situation might look like, we’d be happy to help. To do that visit our website or call us at 925-567-6720.

San Ramon Short Sale Experts Just Closed Another Short Sale At 3775 Crow Canyon Rd. in San Ramon’s Cobblestone Community San Ramon short sale experts have just closed another successful short sale for homeowners living in San Ramon at 3775 Crow Canyon Road, located in the beautiful Cobblestone Subdivision. This is a very nice area more »

1986 Marion Ct. Lafayette Short Sale Just Listed Lafayette short sale specialists are very excited to have another listing coming on the market this weekend. This property is located in a highly desirable community of Lafayette. It’s a single family residence located at 1986 Marion Court. This is a four bedroom, three bath. 3,040 square more »

4736 La Vista Dr. Oakley Just Closed – Non Short Sale – Probate Sale We are proud to have closed another listing located in Oakley, this one at 4736 La Vista Drive. This property is a very nice two-story, four-bedroom, three bath, 2,065 square feet located in the community of Holly Creek. Very nice home. more »

Dublin CA Short Sale Townhome Closed – 4187 Clarinbridge Cir Dublin Dublin CA short sale townhome just closed, located at 4187 Clarinbridge Circle. This is a very nice newer townhome community located in The Villas. 289 total units in the area surrounded by shopping, new development, the freeways very close, parks really close, real more »

Moraga Short Sale For Sale, Just Listed On The Market! Another Moraga short sale just listed on the market by East Bay Short Sale Group. We’re very excited to have a new short sale listing coming up this weekend in Moraga including an open house for interested buyers. The Moraga short sale is located more »

San Leandro Short Sale Just Listed 16075 Carolyn St. San Leandro San Leandro short sale specialists have listed another home for sale in San Ramon. This home is a regular sale, not a short sale, so it can close quickly and will not require any bank approval for sale. This property is located at more »

Oakley Short Sale Just Listed 4736 La Vista Drive Oakley Oakley short sale just listed on the market by East Bay Short Sale Group. This Oakley short sale is a detached home located at 4736 La Vista Drive in Oakley. This property actually is not a short sale. There is a notice of default that’s more »

Walnut Creek Short Sale Just Listed 311 Masters Ct #3 Walnut Creek Walnut Creek short sale specialists at East Bay Short Sale Group are proud to announce another short sale listing located at 311 Master’s Ct. #3 in Walnut Creek. This is located at Club Villas, which is right off of March Banks, right near more »

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Serving Contra Costa and Alameda Counties

What Our Clients Say

“I found Scott to be an honest and straightforward person in his approach to his work and knowledge. Scott quickly proved to be a viable and trusted expert as he clearly explained the process in our initial meeting. Perhaps his most impressive and critical job that he handled with ease was his ability to hide the stress from me and my family while we went through the selling process. I would recommend him without reservation to any prospective seller, whether they are short-selling or selling conventionally. ”— Dan Maloney